Milestones

REAPPOINTED

As an ivory-tower economist, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may have learned more about the Great Depression than anyone else on the planet, and one thing he knew was that he didn't want the U.S. to ever see another one. So when the financial markets melted down in 2008, the mild-mannered, consensus-minded Bernanke blasted a fire hose full of dollars at the U.S. economy, exercising unprecedented powers and sidestepping the democratic process. While the blaze hasn't been extinguished, it's starting to seem under control, which is why President Barack Obama really had no choice but to reappoint Bernanke to a second term. Bernanke hasn't been flawless--market watchers will forever second-guess the decision to let Lehman Brothers go under--but he's been courageous and innovative and (so far) successful. Chairman of the Fed is often described as the second most powerful U.S. official; the main check on him is the President's power not to reappoint him. That power won't be used this year, and it's easy to see why.